Magnetic Sound

[KimG]

Does anything attract the attention of a woodturner quite like the sound of a nearby chainsaw? We just have to see if there is anything interesting that might just be available and head right on over to the siren sound. So it was that I came across a large piece of Olive Ash that was part of the bent base of a large Ash tree compound trunk, the wood was being cleared away for a village pond and yes, I could have what I wanted, so I cut out the most likely sections and drove them back to the house to prepare and rough out. The three resulting bowls are a very good size, the largest being a full 14" across (the lathe can manage 16", but that is true round, I had to chop these almost round just to get them mounted!)
But well worth the effort, the prize of course is the beautifully marked Olive Ash which dominates the main bowl base, it is a great shame that the wood does not retain these vivid colours though, but still, I am sure it will look very eye catching as a finished item.

Here are a few pictures of the roughed out bowls fresh off the lathe.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Lucky, lucky, lucky! They will fade a little, to be sure, but they will still be very lovely. Ash is such a beautiful wood.

 

[Bodrighy]

That is gorgeous wood Kim. Look forward to seeing it finished. Hope it doesn't fade too much.

Pete

 

[CHJ]

Sounds and messages can be frustrating at times as well, 'phone call yesterday to say large Yew tree was being cleared out half a mile up the road if I wanted any, unfortunately some sort of common sense has grabbed hold the last couple of weeks and says that when you can't get in the door of the wood store and the stuff in there and stashed away in most nooks and crannies still needs a couple of years to dry out that you may have reached a limit of some sort.

That Ash should come up good Kim, big enough to be impressive on size alone without the colour character to add embellishment.

 

[Dalboy]

I know what you mean Kim. A little while back I was going to pick up something and as I was driving down the road I hear the familiar sound of a chainsaw. Anyway on the way back I stop and a short time later three big guys are running across a very busy road loading my car which just happens to be a Volvo estate. Total cost a bowl for the lady who's house it was. I must admit it was nothing as spectacular as your haul

 

[Walnut Les]

Nice looking bit of olive ash saved, well done. Les

 

[Robbo3]

Would they lend themselves to colouring or would that be too much?

 

[KimG]

Well, the top one might possibly Robbo, but apart from the fact that it would seem redundant to colour such strikingly coloured grain, Colouring Olive Ash doesn't seem to work to any advantage.

I did actually try colouring a small Olive Ash box just to see how it looked, it was not a great success, the already rather dark nature of the wood meant that the grain patterns did not show through the stains too well and the box, though pretty enough in it's own right, no longer had the attractive swirls typical of the Olive Ash figure (at least, they were no longer obvious) It does of course depend on what colour you use, the yellow is the purest of the colours in the Chestnut range in that it does not have any darkening effect at all, it might work with something like this, but it isn't something that strikes me as a particularly good idea.

All three of these bowls are most likely going to be salad bowls, the plain one certainly is, if it sells as such then the others may well follow suit